During a meeting with Premier Christy Clark and Minister Shirley Bond at the Union of British Columbia Municipalities convention, it was agreed to have a working group explore options of other products or value-added products for our mill.

Based on that commitment made by the Premier, the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources and the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training co-facilitated the meeting, and I felt it was very productive.

In addition, we had MLA Norm Macdonald, a number of industry partners and First Nations, as well as Council members, in attendance.

We spent most of the meeting brainstorming and scoping out opportunities and ideas to help Canal Flats move forward, but it was just the start of a process.

Some really interesting ideas came out and I am looking forward to continuing to work together to flush out more ideas from others.

I am pleased that Canfor committed to staying engaged in the process as we move forward.

On a lighter note, there was a small group of ladies who worked extremely hard planning our First Annual Fall Fair & Artisan Market, which was held on Saturday, October 24th from noon to 4 p.m.

It was a fun-filled afternoon with lots of activities, games (for the young and the young at heart), contests, vendors from all over the Kootenays, and some amazing prizes.

I hope you took advantage of this opportunity to escape reality for a few hours and just enjoy being together having fun!

Ute Juras is the mayor of Canal Flats and can be reached at 250-489-9070 or by e-mail at ujuras@gmail.com.